Gaming has always skirted the line between being a social activity and an isolated affair. Back in the early console days, many of the major titles had split screen elements and friends played in the same room. Now, major releases are often either single player open world adventures, or online multiplayer games that require friends and strangers to link up over the internet to create a perfect team.

This has led to the formation of online gaming communities. These communities can be functional and focused mostly on strategy, or they can be casual and fun. Finding them can be half the battle. This article starts you off with the reasons why you should look and a few suggestions.

Why join an online gaming community?

As mentioned, gaming can, if it is treated in such a way, be an isolating experience. It’s fun to get lost in an alternate reality for hours on your own, but it can be more enjoyable and wholesome to share the experience with others.

Gaming conferences like E3 are an awesome experience, despite reports that Sony, Nintendo and Xbox are skipping it this year, but for most gamers the online sphere is where they will find their community. 

Often, gaming forums and communities have an aim or purpose, whether that be to discuss poker strategy, plan an advance down a virtual battlefield, or facilitate a private match. As well as entertaining yourself and meeting like-minded people, you can also improve your gameplay.

For multiplayer team games, joining online gaming communities can be the difference between running around with no direction and having a coherent team.

Communities for individual games

The first place to start when looking for online gaming communities, is to delve in to the forums and chat rooms surrounding your favourite title.

If you’re a big fan of Elder Scrolls, check out Elder Scrolls Online, a very active forum with discussions about combat, crafting and lore. If you often play Dark Souls, then join the Discord channel or post your chat on the Steam forum. 

For online poker players, the options for building community are plentiful. Sponsored streamers like Team Pro member Spraggy regularly stream to an audience of thousands on Twitch, with viewers using Discord to chat along and discuss hands.

The same goes for specialized poker portals such as PokerStars, which through the creation of Home Games, allows its users to create their own club with up to 501 members and join private games with friends through an invitation code. The leading specialized poker platform has gone a step further to offer its users a more exclusive service and a more personalized experience.

Find People To Play With

Sure, you can jump in a lobby for just about any popular online game and play with randomers. But finding your crew online makes for more team cohesion and therefore more enjoyment when it comes to strategical games like Overwatch and Battlefield.

There are many places to find teammates online. You could start at Gamerpals on Reddit. It’s simply a forum of people looking for others to play with. Of course, you’ll have to navigate the usual trough of information to get what you want.

If you want a more refined version, check out the GameTree app. You tell the app your interests, the games you play, and a few other details, and it matches you with similar players. With badges for skill level and classes, you can use it to build your dream team.

For those who are (much) more serious about their gaming, you can join a clan for competitive gaming and eSports. Lookingforclan.com is one site that achieves this function, matching players with clans as esteemed as Agent Gaming and Team Bionic.

Get on Discord

Discord is the go-to gaming chat platform at the moment. It’s free to join, and you can find servers for just about any game. 

Once you’ve joined the server you’re looking for, you’ll then see a list of channels and members to interact with. You can join up to 100 servers and receive notifications for whichever you choose.

Discord works well with streaming platforms like Twitch, allowing viewers to interact with each other and the host. Discord can also be used to talk to team members within games using the Team Speak sub-app, which is perfect for titles that don’t have an in-game chat feature.

With these methods combined, you’ll always be able to find someone to play and talk strategy with.

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